In Major League Baseball (MLB), the 500 home run club is the group of batters who have hit 500 or more regular-season home runs in their careers. On August 11, 1929, Babe Ruth became the first member of the club. Ruth ended his career with 714 home runs, a record which stood from 1935 until Hank Aaron surpassed it in 1974. Aaron's ultimate career total, 755, remained the record until Barry Bonds set the current mark of 762 during the 2007 season. Gary Sheffield is the most recent to reach 500 home runs, doing so on April 17, 2009. Twenty-five players are members of the 500 home run club.

Of these 25 players, 13 were right-handed batters, 10 were left-handed, and 2 were switch hitters. The San Francisco Giants are the only franchise to see four players reach the milestone while on their roster: Mel Ott while the team was in New York, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, and most recently Bonds. Four 500 home run club members—Aaron, Mays, Eddie Murray, and Rafael Palmeiro—are also members of the 3,000 hit club. Sheffield's 500th home run was his first career home run with the New York Mets, the first time that a player's 500th home run was also his first with his franchise. Alex Rodriguez, at 32 years and 8 days, was the youngest player to reach the milestone while Ted Williams, at 41 years and 291 days, was the oldest.

Membership in the 500 home run club is sometimes described as a guarantee of eventual entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame, although some believe the milestone has become less meaningful in recent years. Four currently eligible club members—Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro and Sammy Sosa—have not yet been elected to the Hall. Bonds and Sosa made their first appearance on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2013; Bonds received only 36.2% and Sosa 12.5% of the total votes, with 75% required for induction. Eligibility requires that a player has "been retired five seasons" or be deceased for at least six months, disqualifying seven living players who have been active within the past five seasons. Some believe the milestone has become less important with the large number of new members; 10 players joined the club from 1999 to 2009. Additionally, several of these recent members have had ties to performance-enhancing drugs. Some believe that by not electing McGwire to the Hall the voters were establishing a "referendum" on how they would treat players from the "Steroid Era".

Key [edit]

Player Name of the player
HR Career home runs
Date Date of the player's 500th home run
Team The batter's team at the time of his 500th home run
Seasons The seasons this player played in the major leagues
Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame
Denotes player who is still active

Members [edit]

The stats are updated through the 2012 regular season

Player HR Date Team Seasons Ref(s)
Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds 762 02001-04-17April 17, 2001 San Francisco Giants 1986–2007
Aaron, HankHank Aaron 755 01968-07-14July 14, 1968 Atlanta Braves 1954–1976
Ruth, BabeBabe Ruth 714 01929-08-11August 11, 1929 New York Yankees 1914–1935
Mays, WillieWillie Mays 660 01965-09-13September 13, 1965 San Francisco Giants 1951–1952,
1954–1973
Rodriguez, AlexAlex Rodriguez 647 02007-08-04August 4, 2007 New York Yankees 1994–
Griffey, Jr., KenKen Griffey, Jr. 630 02004-06-20June 20, 2004 Cincinnati Reds 1989–2010
Thome, JimJim Thome 612 02007-09-16September 16, 2007 Chicago White Sox 1991–
Sosa, SammySammy Sosa 609 02003-04-04April 4, 2003 Chicago Cubs 1989–2005,
2007
Robinson, FrankFrank Robinson 586 01971-09-13September 13, 1971 Baltimore Orioles 1956–1976
McGwire, MarkMark McGwire 583 01999-08-05August 5, 1999 St. Louis Cardinals 1986–2001
Killebrew, HarmonHarmon Killebrew 573 01971-08-10August 10, 1971 Minnesota Twins 1954–1975
Palmeiro, RafaelRafael Palmeiro 569 02003-05-11May 11, 2003 Texas Rangers 1986–2005
Jackson, ReggieReggie Jackson 563 01984-09-17September 17, 1984 California Angels 1967–1987
Ramirez, MannyManny Ramirez 555 02008-05-31May 31, 2008 Boston Red Sox 1993–2011
Schmidt, MikeMike Schmidt 548 01987-04-18April 18, 1987 Philadelphia Phillies 1972–1989
Mantle, MickeyMickey Mantle 536 01967-05-14May 14, 1967 New York Yankees 1951–1968
Foxx, JimmieJimmie Foxx 534 01940-09-24September 24, 1940 Boston Red Sox 1925–1942,
1944–1945
Williams, TedTed Williams 521 01960-06-17June 17, 1960 Boston Red Sox 1939–1942,
1946–1960
McCovey, WillieWillie McCovey 521 01978-06-30June 30, 1978 San Francisco Giants 1959–1980
Thomas, FrankFrank Thomas 521 02007-06-28June 28, 2007 Toronto Blue Jays 1990–2008
Banks, ErnieErnie Banks 512 01970-05-12May 12, 1970 Chicago Cubs 1953–1971
Mathews, EddieEddie Mathews 512 01967-07-14July 14, 1967 Houston Astros 1952–1968
Ott, MelMel Ott 511 01945-08-01August 1, 1945 New York Giants 1926–1947
Sheffield, GaryGary Sheffield 509 02009-04-17April 17, 2009 New York Mets 1988–2009
Murray, EddieEddie Murray 504 01996-09-06September 6, 1996 Baltimore Orioles 1977–1997

See also [edit]

• Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame (including "500 Homerun Club" exhibit)
• List of top 300 Major League Baseball home run hitters
• 3,000 hit club

Notes [edit]